How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?

It turns out that Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson may be getting back in the ring for an exhibition fight in the near future. They famously fought in 1997, when Tyson bit a part of Holyfield’s ear off. What I found interesting about the news is they are 57 and 54 respectively! Of course, competing in a high level boxing match in your 50s is not everyone’s cup of tea, however it is inspiring to me to see how fit it is possible to be in your 50s and beyond. I’ve always thought it strange that people are so accepting of the myth that as you get older you can do less and less; you may not be able to compete in terms of speed, but your technique has the potential to keep expanding with age. Roger Federer is an excellent example of this; at 37 he is still competing at the highest level of tennis and the Williams sisters incredible careers are still going, with Venus aged 40 and Serena aged 38. Contrast this with the fact that, for a lot of professional athletes, retirement beckons around the age of 33.

When we see others doing something, it opens up the possibility we are capable of doing that too. Mirror neurons prove that seeing really is believing; they are responsible for imitation and are an interesting example of showing that perception is a complex feedback cycle and not a one-way street from material reality to the brain. A good example is running the four-minute mile; for years it was considered impossible because no one had managed the feat, yet after Roger Bannister achieved it many other people soon followed in his footsteps.

“We’re mostly under-moved, and not at all too old.”
- Katy Bowman

Listen to the way people talk about themselves, notice if it’s with kindness or with judgement and criticism. I hear a lot of people focusing on what they can’t do and finding reasons to support that; if, as the saying goes, what you speak is what you will become, then continually saying how you’re too old to do x, y or z doesn’t bode well for your future prospects.

One of the ways out of this way of thinking is to find examples of people who are fit and active as they grow older and these people can help shape and redefine your perception of what it means to be ‘old’. It becomes harder to make excuses when you see people in their 80’s and 90’s competing, running marathons and keeping active. I dislike the way older people are under-represented in media in our society and, when they are shown, they are often cartoonishly cuddly and fragile. Take a look at the following ten people and be inspired by what they do - and what it means you could do, too:

Pamela Gagnon

Current age: 45
Lead Coach for CrossFit Gymnastics Certifications.
Photo on the left is her competing in a gymnastics competition aged 18.

Mike Tyson

Current age: 54
Mike Tyson is a former American boxer who, at age 20, became the youngest heavyweight champion in history.
Pictured left aged 18, centre aged 41 and right aged 53.

Diana Nyad

Current age: 71
Diana Nyad is a long-distance swimmer and some of her notable achievements include swimming around Manhattan, swimming from The Bahamas to Florida and she became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage.
Pictured left aged 18 and right aged 64.

Evander Holyfield

Current Age: 57
Evander Holyfield competed from 1984 to 2011 in boxing and reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and remains the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes.
Pictured left aged 21 at the 1984 Olympics.

Gordie Howe

Gordie was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and played in professional games over five decades. After turning 40 he made the All-Star team twice, made his his final National Hockey League aged 52 and played a shift in a for the Detroit Vipers at the age of 69.

Sebastien Foucan

Current age: 46
He coined the term freerunning and is considered as one of the founders of parkour. Foucan appeared as Mollaka in the 21st James Bond film Casino Royale.
Pictured left aged 32 and right aged 44.

Tony Hawk

Current age: 53
Tony Hawk is an American professional skateboarder who—through his technical innovations, successful equipment and apparel companies, and tireless promotional work—helped the sport of skateboarding enter the mainstream at the end of the 20th century.
Pictured left aged 17.

Ernestine Shepherd

Current age: 84
Ernestine Shepherd is the world’s oldest female bodybuilder. She took up exercising aged 56 and competed in her first bodybuilding competition at age 71.
Pictured right aged 80.

Ernie Andrus

Current age: 96
The accomplished long-distance and relay-runner first laced up shoes when he retired at 64.
Ernie ran his first 10K with the torchbearers for the Los Angeles Olympics and, in 2013, he ran across America from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic.
Pictured left in World War Two.

Wolf from Gladiator

Current age: 67
Michael Van Wijk is an English bodybuilder, professional sportsman, actor and TV presenter and is most well known for his role as Wolf on British TV endurance sports game show Gladiators, a role he held for 8 series (pictured left).

Satchel Paige

The baseball player was considered to be one of the most skilled pitchers of all time and played his first Major League game aged 42. He pitched his final game at the age of 59 marking the end of 40 years in professional baseball.

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“How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?” is a quote attributed to Satchel Paige.

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